Jeremy Kane stepping down as head of LEAD Public Schools

The founder of Nashville’s largest charter school system is stepping down from his post after this school year ends.

Jeremy Kane, the founder and CEO of LEAD Public Schools, announced Tuesday he would step down and act as a strategic advisor until the end of the 2014 school year when the school’s first class graduates, amounting to a 14-month transition of leadership.

“I am proud of all that we’ve accomplished and can’t think of a better way to leave than to graduate with our first class of students in 2014,” said Kane, 34, in a press release.

LEAD’s president and chief operating officer, Chris Reynolds, will take over at head of the school on July 1, according to the release.

LEAD operates schools on four campuses, including LEAD Academy Middle School and LEAD Academy High School, Brick Church College Prep and Cameron College Prep, the state’s first public school converted into a charter.

Charter schools are privately run, publicly funded schools. The schools can operate without the strings typically attached to public schools — like longer school days — but can be closed for poor performance or financial mismanagement.